UPUA election season, the time each year when the undergraduates at Penn State get to decide who will be the faces of their student government, is upon us. Elections are something that Onward State has covered with the utmost ferocity since our inception. While we like to poke fun at those making the decisions during the year, elections season is a time for hope to spring eternal that the next year may be better than the last, and we pride ourselves on helping our readers come to informed decisions on who they think is best equipped to help UPUA make that leap forward.

This year, two of Onward State’s staff members–Evan Ponter and Ryan Kristobak–have stepped up to the challenge of being the voice of the students in the Seventh Assembly, competing for the presidency alongside the tickets of current UPUA vice president Courtney Lennartz and Katelyn Mullen as well as current UPUA press secretary Maggie Quinn and Gina Feghali. Because of this potential perceived conflict of interest, we feel the need to address concerns regarding how we will proceed with elections coverage this year.

First off, we’d like to officially state that Ponter/Kristobak is not the “Onward State ticket.” They do not carry our implicit endorsement.

We will treat every ticket with the steadfast objectivity that we have exemplified in years past. We will be reporting from every campaign meeting that we are invited to, each debate that is planned, and any disciplinary board meetings that may arise if campaign violations have been committed. We will run a profile on each ticket, giving you an introduction of who they are and why they are running for the presidency of UPUA. If any ticket decides to hold a press conference in the basement of Irving’s, well, we’ll be there, too.

And finally, we will vet every ticket in an interview the week before the election before we decide if we will make an endorsement and, in turn, who might receive that endorsement.

Internally, candidates Ponter and Kristobak will be not included in any planning or writing of elections coverage. They will continue to write and contribute to the other facets of Onward State as they otherwise would.

If any candidate for any UPUA position would like to write an article detailing their platform or weighing in on a pressing issue at Penn State, we welcome them to use our community section. None of these community posts should be considered endorsements of the candidates, though, as all candidates will have equal opportunity to submit their thoughts.

This is undoubtedly a time of great change in our university, and we wish the best of luck on all students who feel that they can contribute to positive change. If you have any questions or concerns that you feel were not addressed in this article, feel free to leave a comment below or contact [email protected].